The Model A, Yachts and Hollywood

Day-tripping in the Florida dunes.

Arecent day trip with two yachting buddies led to an out-of-the-way spot along the ocean in Stuart, Florida. There, nestled just inside the dune line, sits a small treasure known as the Elliott Museum with a collection that took me back decades.

Just starting my yacht design career with Jack Hargrave in 1974, I glanced outside one day to see a decrepit Model A Ford pull into our parking lot. The driver, wearing khakis dotted with grease stains, climbed out and headed toward our door. Must be some sort of repairman, I thought.

Jack soon introduced me to Elliott Donnelley, owner of Lantana Boatyard, where Burger Boat Company kept its southern sales and service facility. Elliott was a fanatic about Model A Fords, with a collection of 40 or so in various stages of restoration. His goal was to have one each of the many versions Ford and others built on the versatile chassis—coupes, sedans, panel trucks, milk trucks, hearses, you name it.

Days later, a modestly dressed older couple sauntered up our sidewalk. How nice, I thought, that Jack would hire a retired couple to clean the office and provide them a little supplement to their Social Security. Five minutes later, the couple stood by my board as Jack introduced Ralph Evinrude and Frances Langford. I recognized Evinrude’s name, of course, but only later did I learn that Langford’s Outrigger Resort was the Stuart hangout for the rich and famous—Langford’s fame derived from two decades as a singer and movie star in the 1930s and ’40s.

I came to know Langford better as we completed modifications to the couple’s Defoe-built motoryacht Chanticleer, and later, following Evinrude’s death, Langford acquired the Hargrave-designed Buckpasser to become the new Chanticleer. Burger originally built that boat in 1973 for Ogden Phipps, who achieved a bit of Hollywood fame himself when Disney’s 2010 movie “Secretariat” portrayed his character as the guy who lost the Triple Crown winner on a coin toss. To this day, Langford and Phipps remain two of my favorites among Hargrave’s clients, not only for their unwavering devotion to yachting, but also for their gracious manners and genteel demeanors.

Happily for me and for many others, the Elliott Museum is the intersection of cars and yachts, as well as Hargrave, Burger, Evinrude, Langford and Donnelley. Two of the main exhibits are “Wheels of Change” and the “Frances Langford Outrigger Exhibit.” The first is largely a display of Donnelley’s collection of Model A Fords, all now restored, and includes a number of other classic and exotic cars. They are all housed in a multilevel glass case. You can select any car from the catalog, and it automatically moves to a floor-level central platform where it rotates for closer inspection.

The second exhibit is a significant collection of Langford memorabilia, with a large part of it focused on her time with Evinrude and the two Chanticleers. There’s also an unrelated display of local maritime history, including a number of restored classic wooden boats. Taken together, it all makes the Elliott Museum a must-see for anyone interested in cars, boats or Hollywood history.

While you’re in the neighborhood, wander across the street to the Frances Langford Visitors Center for a tour of the Florida Oceanographic Society’s Coastal Center. It’s an extensive hands-on display of sea life that will delight kids of any age. Just down the road is the restored House of Refuge, the last remaining of 10 rescue stations that dotted the Florida coastline when it was still an uninhabited wilderness.